NHH board hears Black History Month presentation
Lola Obomighie. Image courtesy of Northumberland Hills Hospital.
By Cecilia Nasmith
Cobourg
Northumberland Hills Hospital recognizes February as Black History Month, and the reason behind this was the subject of a presentation at their February board meeting.
Vice-President of People Culture and Organizational Effectiveness Lola Obomighie made the presentation, leading with a reference to the territorial acknowledgement that opens every such meeting. For this occasion, she added her own acknowledgement of the people who actually formed the cargo of slave ships that plied the Middle Passage between Africa and North America, and of the work these people did in shaping our world of today.
Obomighie led with a list of contributions to modern-day medicine such as Sara Baartman's conversations about ethics in medicine, Dr. Charles Drew's work in blood banking and transfusion, and the Tuskegee Studies examining syphilis.
Black History Month is a time to look at challenges in modern-day medicine, such as receiving culturally competent care and an underrepresentation of black medical professionals. With income inequalities, unemployment rates, workplace discrimination, and overrepresentation in low-wage work and inter-generational poverty, the result is higher rates of mental-health issues, higher maternal and infant mortality rates, more chronic health problems such as obesity.
At NHH, she said, presentations have been made and the Black History Month flag has been hoisted. Mandatory anti-black racism training has been introduced for staff. And on Feb. 13, NHH will welcome Dr. Everton Gooden for a fireside chat with the theme Black Resistance.
Going forward, she urged board members to set a tone for anti-black racism and inclusion within NHH, supporting actionable policies, practices and processes to address the issue.
